LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



021 092 266 • 



fobs 'rc/t ■**+*** *'*£++ * j?s. SjJs ■ 

r. &<?<J . T a BRIEF HISTORY 




OF 



ELECTRO MAGNETISM, 



applfcafilc to £Hacfjmcrj? ; 



WITH 



EXTRACTS FROM VARIOUS SCIENTIFIC WORKS; 



WITH THE OPINIONS OF SEVERAL DISTINGUISHED MEN 



AS TO ITS 



EVENTUAL SUCCESS 



COMPILED BY J. PARKS, Esq. 
iu 



NEW-YORK: 
CHARLES S. FRANCIS, BROADWAY. 

1838. 






* 



%» 



<* V - 



X 









Entered according to the Act of Congress, in the year 1838, by 

C. S. FRANCIS, 

in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, for the 

Southern District of New- York. 



3^S-^ 



G. F. Hopkins, Printer. 2, Ann-street. 



J~-/l-3 *> 



INTRODUCTION 



The following pages have been compiled to suit the ca- 
pacity of all, and to enable those persons who have had no 
previous knowledge of Electricity, Galvanism, Magnetism, 
or Electro-Magnetism, by perusing these pages, to under- 
stand at once the power employed to propel and give rotary 
motion to the Electro-Magnetic Machine. It has no preten- 
sions to be a scientific work ; and doubtless those who have a 
thorough knowledge of the subject here treated of, will dis- 
cover numerous errors. But the compiler has only to ob- 
serve, that he has been induced, at the request of several 
friends, to throw together something that he hopes will ena- 
ble every one who has had an opportunity of witnessing the 
Electro-Magnetic Machinery, to understand the whole mov- 
ing principle ; and by those who have not seen, or who have 
no knowledge of these Machines, or the principles by which 
they are operated or set in motion, he flatters himself that 
the subject will be better understood by this unpretending 
and simple explanation, than a more elaborate or scientific 
description could possibly accomplish, to the general reader. 

The compiler is partly indebted to a small pamphlet com- 
piled and published in Philadelphia for the proprietor, by per- 
mission. 



DESCRIPTION, MODE OF MAKING AN ELECTRO-MAGNETIC 
MACHINE, &c. &c. 



It is not intended in this brief sketch to treat either of Electricity, 
or Magnetism, further than is absolutely necessary to give the reader 
a thorough knowledge of the manner in which the motive power acts 
on this machinery. Avoiding speculation, we shall point only to 
fact ; and pursuing the rigid path of proof, demonstrate at every step 
the unerring principles which in these machines govern the produc- 
tion of power, and clearly show that it can be augmented to any un- 
limited extent. 

The term magnetism expresses the peculiar properties which iron 
and some of its compounds, as well as nickel and cobalt, may be 
made to possess ; these are four. — 1. Polarity. — 2. Attraction of 
unmagnelised iron. — 3. Attraction and repulsion of magnetised 
iron. — 4. The power of inducing magnetism in other iron. 

Steel, when magnetised, retains its magnetic qualities. Iron does 
not. Steel cannot be rendered a temporary, nor iron a permanent 
magnet. ' 

Polarity. 

The ends of all magnets are termed poles — the two ends are dis- 
similar poles. If one end be south, the other must be north, and 
vice versa. Both, poles will attract iron with equal force. Neither 
pole will attract, whilst on the contrary, either pole will repel, a simi- 
lar pole of a previously magnetised body. Thus the north and south 
poles must invariably attract each other, whilst the north as invaria- 
bly repels a north, and the south a south pole. To this unalterable 
law of magnetics the reader must give particular attention. " Dis- 
similar poles (north and south) attract, and similar poles (two north 



or two south) repel each other." On these governing principles, 
and on the mode of changing the polarity of the Electro-Magnet, de- 
pends the motion of the machine. 

Attraction of Unmagnetised Iron. 

Both poles are equally efficient in attracting unmagnetised iron, 
and no repulsion exists between either pole of a magnet and unmag- 
netised iron. 

Attraction and Repulsion of Magnetised Iron. 

The motion of the machinery is altogether dependent on change 
of polarity and this property of the magnet ; and without the pres- 
ence of these opposite powers, the rotary motion would be nugatory 
for any useful purpose. The following experiment best illustrates 
these qualities : — Suspend a magnetised steel needle ; freely oppose 
to the north pole thereof the south pole of a magnet held in the hand, 
the poles (north and south) immediately attract each other. Re- 
verse the poles, opposing a north to the north pole, and they imme- 
diately repel each other. By alternating the poles, i. e. attracting 
one and repelling the other, the manner in which the magnetic power 
acts on the machinery, and causes its rotation, will be palpable. 

The Power of Inducting Magnetism into other Iron. 

If a piece of loadstone (natural magnet,) or magnetised steel 
(permanent magnet,) be placed in contact with a piece of soft iron, 
the iron becomes immediately a magnet by induction, having (whilst 
in contact only) all the properties of magnetism ; and to this sus- 
ceptibility of iron is owing the facility, by means of the galvanic fluid, 
of perfecting the Electro-Magnet. — A further law of magnetic in- 
duction is, that it indues iron (at the point of contact) with a dissimi- 
lar polarity ; thus the south pole of a magnet renders iron in con- 
tact a north pole, and vice versa. Every magnetic body must pos- 
sess two poles, one south, the other north. 



The Electro-Magnet 



The Electro-Magnet, as its name implies, means a magnet by 
electricity. The first discoverer of the magnetic properties of elec- 
tric currents was Professor Oersted of Copenhagen ; — this was in 
1819. He went no further, however, than to produce deviations in 
the magnetic needle, by passing the galvanic fluid near it. This 
discovery aroused the attention of the scientific world to the subject. 
Many experiments were tried, and new discoveries made. Profes- 
sor Moll of Utretcht, by winding a piece of soft iron with copper 
wire, and making the wire a part of the galvanic circle, produced the 
Electro-Magnet. In 1830, Professor Henry of Albany made an 
improvement in the manner of winding the wire, and made an Elec- 
tro-Magnet which suspended a weight of more than two tons. Many 
more powerful ones have since been made. 

To render a bar of iron an Electro-Magnet, it is necessary to in- 
sulate it, with the exception of the extremities or poles, with silk, 
coated with a thin adhesive varnish ; it must then be further insu- 
lated by a continuous copper wire, wound spirally, and closely, at 
right angles to the iron, leaving as before the two ends or poles bare, 
and sufficient of each end of the wire to act as conductors to the 
galvanic fluid, which must be compelled to follow the convolutions 
of the wire around the iron ; for should the wire not be covered with 
cotton, and the fluid pass from one convolution to the other, moving 
parallel to the iron, no magnetism is produced. The iron must be 
wrapped with silk, and by a continuous current of electricity it ren- 
ders it magnetic ; and also to communicate to the Electro-Magnet 
all the properties of magnetism, which it does in a more powerful 
degree than the permanent magnet can be made to possess. On the 
galvanic electricity being withdrawn, it instantly loses its magnetic 
powers. Another and most important peculiarity of the Electro- 
Magnet is, its capability of changing polarity at the pleasure of the 
operator ; this is effected by passing the positive conductor, or the 
wire leading from the copper plate of the battery, on a different end 
of the magnet, and thereby compelling the galvanic current to flow 
through the wire at opposite points. By this simple and ready 



means, any number of magnets, in systematic connexion, can be 
made to change polarity at pleasure. 

The battery is composed of alternate plates of copper and zinc. 
Nearly all the metals will answer the purpose, but in regard to en- 
ergy and economy, copper and zinc are found the best. It is not 
necessary that it should be made in any particular form ; any form 
that is found most convenient may be adopted, as it is merely neces- 
sary that the two metals should alternate, copper, zinc, copper, zinc, 
and so on, according to the power required. The different plates of 
zinc are all connected by a metallic strap ; so are the several plates 
of copper connected in like manner by a metallic strap, and thus 
form only one pair of plates ; this arrangement gives no electric 
shock, and no danger can arise from such a battery. When the bat- 
tery is in any bath that acts chemically on the zinc, the galvanic fluid 
is evolved. The copper is not acted upon in a sensible degree. As 
the galvanic or electric fluid is produced by the chemical action on 
the zinc, it is received from the bath by the several plates of copper 
(copper being among the best conductors of electricity), and is pass- 
ed from the battery on the wire attached to the plates of copper. 
When the circle is closed, that is, when the two wires (that attached 
to the copper and the other to the zinc,) are connected by a conduc- 
tor of electricity to the magnets in the machinery, the fluid returns to 
the battery on the wire attached to the zinc. The wire attached to 
the copper side of the battery is termed the positive, and that to the 
zinc is termed the negative. The positive electricity passes from 
the copper battery, and following its conductor into the wire wound 
around the magnets of the machine, returns again to the battery on 
the wire attached to the zinc, where it was first generated, moving 
continually in a circle, and rendering in its progress all the iron in 
connexion magnetic ; for, to produce a Galvanic or Electro-Magnet, 
it is only requisite to pass the fluid around iron, which has been 
wound with copper, and insulated as previously described. 

The manner of making the Electro-Magnet and its powers, as in 
contradistinction to the steel or permanent magnet, have been already 
enumerated, and it is here merely requisite to remark, that all the 
magnets used in machinery are Electro-Magnets. In giving a de- 
scription of a machine, it will be very difficult, if not almost impossi- 



ble, to convey to the reader, without ocular demonstration, such a 
description as will enable him to comprehend its combined action. 
It must be seen, despite the clearest and most minute description 
that can be conveyed, to be understood by those who have never 
seen a machine in operation, or who have not a knowledge of the 
science. Not that it is complicated. On the contrary, its extreme 
simplicity is its great recommendation ; and it is this very simplicity 
as to parts, which renders it so difficult to convey to any one (who 
has not seen a machine at work,) a true idea of the action of the 
whole. 

The terms positive and negative are used only with reference to 
the different or opposite state of electricity, in which the conducting 
wires from the battery always are when the battery is immersed. In 
speaking of magnets, they are distinguished as north or south poles ; 
for as both poles attract and lift unmagnetised iron with equal power, 
neither are negative or wanting in magnetism. 

It must be always borne in mind, that these machines are moved 
entirely by magnetic attraction and repulsion ; for it is a very general 
impression, before seeing them, that they owe their power to electric 
force and velocity ; — such is not the case. A galvanic current, so 
feeble as not to be felt even on the tongue, will give a magnetic 
power capable of suspending an immense weight ; for the galvanic 
fluid is multiplied in power many millions of times, when thus con- 
verted to induct magnetism into Electro-Magnets. 

However great the interest and curiosity excited by this machine, 
in a scientific and philosophic point of view, as illustrating the won- 
derful operations of electricity and magnetism on our earth, and as 
an all-pervading principle of the universe, inquirers in general are 
more desirous to be satisfied of its utility as a motive power — of its 
capability and extent of augmentation — facility of operation and 
comparative economy. 

The magnetic currents may be compared to a stream of water, 
acting similarly to its force on a water wheel. We shall give an 
illustration describing the course or direction of the magnetic cur- 
rents. Place two semicircular steel magnets, with their adhering 
poles opposite to each other, about an inch asunder. On covering 
them with paper, and sprinkling thereon lightly iron filings, the iron 

2 



10 



filings will arrange themselves in curves ; now place the repelling 
poles opposite each other, and the filings will remove directly across 
the circle. The machinery depends entirely on the force and direc- 
tion of these currents, and as they always move between the opposite 
poles, that is, between the north and south poles, it follows that they 
will move around a circle in angles, corresponding in number with 
the number of magnetic poles in the centre. If, therefore, we have 
four poles in the circle, the magnetic currents will move in a square ; 
if we have eight poles, they will move in an octagon, and so on : 
when there are fifty or a hundred poles in the circle, the magnetic 
currents move around, within the circle, in the direction of the re- 
volving magnets, and thus we bring into use all the magnetic power 
generated ; hence we infer, from repeated experiments, that the 
power of these machines increases in a greater ratio than they are 
increased in size. Around a motive-wheel, eleven feet in diameter, 
we can place fifty or more magnets in a row, with their poles at the 
periphery. Now, no one can deny, that the first magnet placed 
upon the wheel, possesses, and will exert some power in giving mo- 
tion to the machine ; the second magnet will double that power ; 
the third will treble it ; and the fiftieth will make it fifty fold. The 
calculation is as certain, and as strictly mathematical, as that of the 
steam engine. 

It is an every day remark, that many machines work well on a 
small scale, that will not do so on a large one. If this be true of a 
mere machine, it is never true of the power that propels the ma- 
chine. A machine, and the power that moves it, should always be 
kept separate in the mind. Water will work on any desirable scale ; 
so will steam ; so will animals ; and so, too, will magnets. A 
power will always work on any scale on which it can be procured. 
And unless we are limited in the number of magnets to be manu- 
factured, we cannot be limited in the power that may be obtained 
from them. 

Durability and simplicity of construction, always so desirable, and 
often absolutely necessary in machinery, is possessed by these ma- 
chines in a degree far beyond that of the steam engine. The mag- 
nets, which are ninety per cent, of its cost, are not subject to any 
friction, and are, it may be almost said, indestructible, whilst the re- 



II 

maining ten per cent, of its cost may be kept in repair for a less 
sum than would suffice to supply a steam engine with oil. The 
wear and tear of line-shafts is unnecessary ; each lathe or spindle 
in a factory can be supplied with the exact amount of power it re- 
quires, independently of any other. Each workman, when he has a 
job of work to do, can commence it on the instant ; when he has 
finished it, he suspends his battery, and the machine is at rest, (al- 
ways ready, however, at the instant, to commence again,) and when 
not employed, costing nothing. Such is not the case with the steam 
engine ; for when it has not constant employment, it is found to be 
too expensive to raise steam for short jobs. 

Its safety is a paramount consideration. The benefit society de- 
rives from the steam engine, is daily marred by the most heart-rend- 
ing and appalling accidents and destruction of human life and hap- 
piness. It may be said, that this is in part owing to the culpability 
and negligence of those intrusted with its management ; yet it is cer- 
tain that much is inseparable from the employment of this terrible 
power. How immense is the contrast in favour of Electro-Magnet- 
ism ! Instead of depending on the sobriety and attention of a class 
of men generally intemperate, and almost always rendered so by the 
fatiguing and incessant labour which those employed upon steam 
engines are compelled to undergo, you behold in magnetism a type 
of that Heavenly Majesty which rules the Universe. How sublime 
a theme for contemplation ! Man, by the aid of science, compelling 
an omnipotent and invisible power to his service, and harnessing to 
his car (harmless and obedient) the power of Deity itself ! — commu- 
nicating to every thing connected with it a spirit of tranquillity and 
safety — performing all the work assigned it, in silent harmony — 
and to the delight and astonishment of every one that beholds it. 

It is impossible by the utmost vigilance to prevent accidents by 
steam. It is not possible, by the grossest carelessness, to cause an 
accident by magnetism or the means that produce it. 

There cannot be a doubt that the demand for fuel to supply our 
innumerable steam engines has caused much misery among our pop- 
ulation, by the enormous price to which it has enhanced that indis- 
pensable necessary of life ; and there is even danger that the supply 
cannot be long continued adequate to the demand, notwithstanding 



12 

our immense supplies. Whilst, independently of the every day dis- 
covered stores our country affords, the mines of Germany, of which 
zinc is a refuse, and where our staples are eagerly sought after, prof- 
fer us an exhaustless abundance, and at a cost too trivial to deserve 
serious notice. 

We now propose giving a concise history of Electro-Magnetism 
as applied to machinery by Davenport and others, with an account 
of the various experiments to test the utility of this new motion. 
We shall allude to Davenport, as he was the first in this country to 
attract public attention by the exhibition (in the spring of the year 
1837, we believe,) of some very small models that worked well ; and 
as the subject was new to at least ninety-nine in a hundred of this 
community, it at once attracted very great attention among all those 
who ever interest themselves about machinery of any kind. He came 
before the public in the most favourable light, having a patent and 
claiming to be the actual inventor and discoverer of rotary motion 
by means of electricity and magnetism ; and with the assistance of 
the press, who were all invited to witness its application, and all of 
whom were pleased on first beholding motion produced by means so 
simple, they universally called on the public to patronize this second 
Franklin, in the person of a modest, unassuming Vermont black- 
smith. As the subject came to be examined and inquired into, it 
was found that several very ingenious and scientific men in Europe 
had successfully applied the same power long before the date of Da- 
venport's patent, on principles precisely the same — the only differ- 
ence being in the modification and arrangement, as will be shown 
by extracts from various foreign publications, not generally circulated 
in this country. About July or August, 1837, Messrs. Daven- 
port & Cook assured those interested, and the public in general, 
that they were about commencing the model of a machine suf- 
ficiently large to turn a printing-press, which would be completed in 
October. About the time the large machine was commenced, a 
public exhibition was opened in Barclay street, which excited a great 
deal of attention, and the inquiries were constantly made about the 
progress of the large machine, which had been promised at an early 
day to add to the exhibition. From various causes, it was not com- 
pleted in some months, after it was first promised ; and when at last it 



13 

was finished, proved to be a total failure, and has been since broken 
up. The cause of the failure was, in the opinion of the best in- 
formed on such matters, in the arrangement and construction — not 
in the principle itself. There was more or less deception used with 
the public at all the public or private exhibitions, and in all the state- 
ments in regard to the actual power, cost, and probable expense of 
using the same ; so that the community begin to look upon Electro- 
Magnetism as a sort of first cousin to Animal Magnetism, when in 
reality it is worthy, in our opinion, of all and more than has yet been 
extended to it, of the patronage and support of this generous com- 
munity ; — and we shall endeavour to prove that it is, at this present 
time, worthy of all consideration and further experiment, if made in 
a proper way and by competent persons, and shall give the opinions 
of various distinguished individuals, both in this country and Europe, 
in support of the assumed capabilities of Electro-Magnetism as a 
motive power. For, through gross mismanagement somewhere, the 
science of Electro-Magnetism does not stand so high in the estima- 
tion of the public as it did a year since, when in fact astonishing 
improvements have been made within that time, since it has been 
found that any person making such improvements can secure them, 
and have already secured letters patent in the United States for the 
same, Mr. Davenport's patent to the contrary notwithstanding. One 
of the first in this country, who turned their attention to this subject, 
was Dr. Charles G. Page of Salem, Mass. He, in conjunction 
with several gentlemen in Boston, made some very important experi- 
ments, and nearly completed a very fine machine, that cost nearly 
two thousand dollars ; but as Dr. Page saw where some improve- 
ments might be made which required more funds, and the company 
refusing to assist him any further, for a time it has been abandoned. 
But the Doctor, in a paper in the last American Journal, holds out 
every encouragement to prosecute the affair still further, and with 
strong hopes of eventual success. Dr. Page has furnished Silli- 
man's Journal with several very valuable papers on this subject, 
and stands deservedly high as a scientific man as well as practical 
experimenter. There have been several applications at the Patent- 
office for alleged improvements in the mode of applying this power ; 
but, to the best of our information, as yet only one has been granted : 



14 



that has been awarded to Mr. Solomon Stimpson of New-York city, 
but originally from Vermont. The great advantage of Mr. Stimp- 
son's arrangement over all the other models in the Patent-office is 
its simplicity as to form and disposition of the magnets, his manner 
of changing the poles, and the method of introducing any required 
amount" of electricity, by his new disc or pole-changer, to the motive 
wheel. After Mr. Stimpson had completed three models on his plan, 
he invited several gentlemen to see them work, — some of them the 
most distinguished men in the country, — who all expressed themselves 
warmly in their favour, over every other arrangement with which they 
were acquainted. Some of the gentlemen thought so well of the 
invention, that they took measures during the last summer to pro- 
cure a charter from the state of Rhode Island, with a capital of 
$500,000, for the express purpose of buying Mr. Stimpson's patent, 
and testing the value of the invention by actual experiment, on a 
scale of sufficient size and dimensions to satisfy the public of its 
practicability or not. When the charter of the Magnetic Company 
had been obtained, liberal offers were made to Mr. Stimpson and 
his associates, by the company, for his patent (if obtained,) which 
were acceded to, and immediate steps taken to procure the patent ; 
which was obtained, and bears date the 12th September, 1838, and 
has since been transferred to the company. This Magnetic Com- 
pany are now building in this city a splendid machine, the motive 
wheel of which is four feet diameter, the whole weight and force of 
the magnets on the extreme periphery of the wheel. To complete 
this machine, a few shares of the full stock in the company have 
been offered for sale, on such terms as must prove highly advan- 
tageous, if it performs one tenth part of what is anticipated by those 
most deeply interested in the concern. The opinion was freely ex- 
pressed in the Patent-office, after seeing the model work which is 
deposited there, that the invention is of great value, if it could not be 
carried any further than the model ; and if a man's power only can 
be obtained, (and no substantial reason can be assigned why it can- 
not be obtained of many horse power,) then, for very many purposes 
where steam cannot be used to advantage, it will be of immense 
and incalculable value. Look at its safety from fire and explosion ; 
the saving in insurance ; the absence of heat, steam, and smoke in 



15 



our work-shops ; and, as we firmly believe, the great economy — as, 
in running the machines, nothing of consequence is destroyed : true, 
a chemical decomposition takes place with the zinc and acid, but 
with very little actual loss of material. One hundred times the 
amount wanted ought to be raised in this city alone, if the proper 
feeling existed, and all could be made to feel the importance of the 
application of Electro-Magnetism to machinery, &c. The bare pos- 
sibility that it may succeed, should induce every public spirited, pa- 
triotic man in this community to come forward at once, and do some- 
thing to forward this great enterprise, and show the world that the 
city where steam was first successfully employed in navigation, was 
also the first to apply to useful purposes the wonderful, mysterious, 
and invisible power that evidently sustains and moves the whole 
planetary system. 

But I would here observe, that in offering Stimpson's improve- 
ments to the notice of the public, we have to contend against the 
prejudice existing against the old magnetic association of Daven- 
port & Co., which is most unfair, as they are, in arrangement and 
construction, as dissimilar as the poles. We can hardly wonder? 
however, at the loss of confidence in Electro-Magnetism by all 
those who have derived their information and have pinned their faith 
on the promises of what the old concern have been going to do for 
the last eighteen months, and finding at last that they have absolutely 
accomplished nothing ; and we are willing to allow, as far as they 
are concerned, that it has been a failure — not, as we believe, a fail- 
ure of the principle of Electro-Magnetism as applicable to machine- 
ry, but a failure of certain experiments only, made on erroneous prin- 
ciples, which have been obviated by Mr. Stimpson, if not entirely 
overcome. Davenport & Cook never waited for actual results ; — 
all the claim they ever had on the public confidence, rested on asser- 
tion merely of what they intended to do at some future time, or what 
they possibly hoped they might accomplish. If they had confined 
themselves to results as they occurred, and had not positively as- 
sured the public, from time to time, of producing power sufficient to 
move a printing press and for other useful purposes, it would have 
been much more satisfactory to their friends and the public. An- 



16 

other great cause of complaint, was the unfairness with which the 
machines were always tested as to their actual power, as far as they 
did succeed. They never, as far as I have observed, put their ma- 
chines to do any work, or raise any weight on the shaft, until the 
machine had arrived at its maximum speed — consequently it always 
had the advantage of all the momentum they could give it, before 
any resistance was offered to the machine. On Stimpson's plan, 
the machine moves at once, and does its work without waiting for it 
to get up to a certain point of velocity, which is an immense advan- 
tage over the old plan. 

The model of Stimpson, that has been chosen by the company to 
build the large machine from, is 8 inches diameter, with 6 magnets 
on the motive wheel, and 6 stationary magnets 6 inches in length, 
straight cylinders 1 1-4 inches diameter at the poles. The large 
wheel now building is on the same plan as the above, with 24 mag- 
nets on the motive wheel, 24 inches long, 2 1-2 inches diameter, the 
wheel itself 4 feet diameter. There are also 24 magnets on the 
outside, and stationary — of the same length as the inside magnets, 
but 3 inches diameter at the poles. The model works well, and 
does all and more than was expected from it. It is the only machine 
ever built on this plan, and has more power than any model of the 
steam engine of the same dimensions. No promise is made as 
to the amount of power the large machine will possess when com- 
pleted ; but we assert and believe, as much as we believe any thing 
most easily demonstrated, that, when completed, it will possess 
enough to satisfy the most skeptical of its immense value over any 
other force now in use* for very many mechanical purposes ; and 
we defy any person to give a good and sufficient reason why a large 
machine of four feet diameter will not work as well, if not better, on 
this plan than the one of 8 inches diameter, every thing being prop- 
erly arranged. We shall now proceed to fortify our opinion of its 
practicability as to its general result, by what some of the most dis- 
tinguished men in the world think of the subject, and show satisfac- 
torily, by the same extracts, that Mr. Stimpson has not interfered 
with any person's invention or patent whatever, as has been as- 
serted. We shall now give some extracts from works already pub- 
lished. November 26, 1838. 



17 



An extract from M. IT. Jacobi, Dr. of Sciences and Professor of the Univer- 
sity of Dorpat, (published at Potsdam, 1835,) on the Application of Electro- 
Magnetism to the Movement of Machines. 

11 The great discovery of M. Oersted, which has so much ex- 
tended the limits of physical science, promises to open a new ca- 
reer to practical mechanics. The motive powers which have hith- 
erto served for the movement of machines are not, properly speak- 
ing, forces ; they are only masses animated by forces. These 
masses are made to act upon the point of application of a machine, 
and they consequently can only give it a velocity conformable to 
their own moving principle. But magnetism enables us to employ 
immediately a force ; the point of application is the force itself. 
We thus perceive a considerable active force produced without any 
external influence. The interest of such a phenomenon is increas- 
ed extremely by the simplicity of the apparatus, and by the facility 
of conceiving its mode of action. The study of the phenomena of 
electricity and magnetism is still in its infancy ; and we are not sur- 
prised that every day makes us acquainted with new phenomena at 
once striking and unsuspected. I have suppressed as much as pos- 
sible all purely theoretical considerations. As to the practical ap- 
plication, it appears to me decided by my experiments ; to go fur- 
ther will be only to augment an effect, with which, laying aside san- 
guine expectations, we may already be content. It is no uncom- 
mon thing to have electro-magnets which lift 2000 lbs. ; mine car- 
ried only fi;om 30 to 40 at most : nevertheless, these feeble magnets 
furnished me with a mechanical action equal to half the force of a 
man. To maintain this action during eight hours, scarcely half a 
pound of zinc is required, every thing being properly arranged. I 
have not yet been able to construct a larger apparatus, and I there- 
fore wished to make as much use as I could of the one I possess- 
ed, since it was capable of showing completely the nature of the 
active forces. My experiment may be easily repeated ; all depend- 
ing upon carefully attending to the construction of the commutator, 
and likewise that of the galvanic apparatus. Those who are ac- 
quainted with electro-magnetic phenomena, will easily be able to 
make the necessary arrangements, and to give the accurate propor- 
tion to the several parts. I have not been able to make further dis- 

3 



IB 



coveries on this subject, and I am obliged to interrupt my investiga- 
tions for a time ; but from what precedes, I may perhaps be justifi- 
ed in maintaining, that the superiority of this new motor, with re- 
gard to the absence of danger, the simplicity of the application, and 
the expense of the materials necessary to keep it in action, is placed 
beyond a doubt. The object of this memoir will be attained, if it 
inspire an interest for a subject which merits it. Koningsberg, Au- 
gust 21, 1835." 

Then follows a full description of his machine, and the result of 
various experiments, with several plates accompanying the same, 
stating that in Nov. 1834, he had the honour of laying before the Acad- 
emy of Sciences of Paris a note upon a new Electro-Magnetic ap- 
paratus. He says : " Since that time, M. M. Botto and dal Negro 
have claimed the priority of the invention. The competition in 
which I find myself engaged with such distinguished men, serves 
only to confirm my conviction of the importance of this new motive 
power." Thus proving, beyond a doubt, that all these distinguished 
men were in the field before Davenport, as his patent is dated Feb. y 
1837. This matter is published in the Scientific Memoirs, edited by 
R. Taylor, F. R. S., part 4th, London, July, 1837, one of the most 
valuable scientific works in Europe. In this part 4th, there is also 
a note on the application of Electro-Magnetism as a mechanical 
power, by J. D. Botto, Professor of the Royal University of Turin ; 
also part of a lecture on Electro-Magnetism, delivered to the Philo- 
sophical Society at Zurich, Feb. 18th, 1833, by the late Dr. R. 
Schultress ; who concludes his lecture with these remarks : "If we 
consider that electro-magnets have already been made which were 
capable of carrying 20 cwt., and that there is no reason to doubt that 
they may be made infinitely more powerful, I think I may assert 
boldly, that Electro-JMagnetism may certainly be employed for the 
purpose of moving machines" — using almost the identical language 
of Prof. Jacobi, who, since the date of his memoir, has been em- 
ployed by the Emperor of Russia in experimenting on this interest- 
ing science, the Emperor having, it is said, appropriated a handsome 
fund for this express purpose. It is believed, however, that Ameri- 
can ingenuity and practical skill have already accomplished more 
towards applying it to machinery, than all the scientific men in Eu- 



19 



rope of whom any public mention has been yet made. At any rate, 
Mr. Stimpson's models have been very closely examined by several 
gentlemen who stand first in this country for their knowledge of this 
particular subject, who have one and all given the preference to them 
over any that they had previously seen, or that had been noticed in 
any foreign work or Magazine. Dr. Charles G. Page, before men- 
tioned, and no mean authority in such matters, told a friend of Mr. 
Stimpson, " that he considered it decidedly the best arrangement that 
had been thought of; and that was saying a great deal, from one 
who had spent as much time and money as he had to accomplish 
the result here attained." 

Description of an Electro-Magnetic Engine for Turning, by Win. Sturgeon, 
Lecturer, &ic. he, Art. No. 13, page 75 in the Annals of Electricity, Magnetism, 
and Chemistry, No. 1, Vol. 1st, Oct., 1836 : London, published by Sherwood, 
Gilbert & Piper, Paternoster Row. 

Mr. Sturgeon concludes his article, after a full description of his 
machine accompanied with a drawing, showing that it was propelled 
on the same principles as Davenport's, (or in fact any other Electro- 
Magnetic machine,) in the following words : — 

" This engine was constructed in the autumn of 1832, and was 
exhibited for the first time in London, on the 21st of March, 1833, 
in a lecture on electro-magnetism, which I delivered at the Western 
Literary and Scientific Institute ; and notwithstanding its then rude 
appearance, the committee were so highly pleased with its structure 
and performance, that they expressed a wish to have it brought for- 
ward again, and hear it explained, as soon as there was another op- 
portunity. I was consequently honoured with an engagement to con- 
tinue and extend my course of lectures in the following June ; and 
in those lectures my engine again worked well, and excited a great 
deal of curiosity amongst the members of the institution ; and, I be- 
lieve, was so fortunate as to give general satisfaction. Since that 
time, I have attached to it contrivances for drawing wagons and car- 
riages on a railway, for sawing wood, pumping water, &c, upon 
about the same scale as we see pieces of machinery put into motion 
by the large models of steam engines. But as I saw several parts 
in which I thought it might be improved, it has long since been laid 



20 



by, and another one is now about building. The old one, however, 
is still in existence. 



PROFESSOR SILLIMAN'S REMARKS. 

[From Silliman's American Journal of Science and Arts, No. 1, 
Vol. xxxii., April, 1837.] 

Many years have passed since motion was first produced by gal- 
vanic power. The dry columns of De Luc and Zamboni caused 
the vibration of delicate pendulums and the ringing of small bells, for 
long periods of time, even several years, without intermission. 

In 1819 — 20, Professor Oersted of Copenhagen, discovered that 
magnetism was evolved between the poles of a galvanic battery. 
Professor Sweiger of Halle, Germany, by his galvanic multiplier, 
succeeded in rendering the power manifest, when the galvanic batte- 
ry was nothing more than two small wires, one of copper and the 
other of zinc, immersed in as much acidulated water as was contain- 
ed in a wine-glass. The power thus evolved was made to pass 
through many convolutions of insulated wire, and was thus aug- 
mented so as to deflect the magnetic needle sometimes even 90°. 
Professor Moll of Utretcht, by winding insulated wire around soft 
iron, imparted to it prodigious magnetic power, so that a horseshoe 
bar, thus provided and connected with a galvanic battery, would lift 
over one hundred pounds. About the same time, Mr. Joseph Hen- 
ry of Albany, now Professor Henry of Princeton College, by a new 
method of winding the wire, obtained an almost incredible magnetic 
force, lifting six or seven hundred pounds, with a pint or two of liquid 
and a battery of corresponding size ; nor did he desist, until a short 
time after, he lifted thousands of pounds, by a battery of larger size, 
but still very small, (1830.) This gentleman was not slow to apply 
his skill to the generation of motion, and a successful attempt of his 
is recorded in this journal, vol. xx., p. 340. A power was thus ap- 
plied to the movement of a machine, by a beam suspended in the 
centre, which performed regular vibrations in the manner of a beam 
of a steam engine. This is the original application from which have 
sprung, or at least to which have succeeded, several similar attempts, 
both in this country and in Europe. A galvanic machine was re- 



21 



ported to the British Association, in 1835, by Mr. McGauly, of Ire- 
land, and he has renewed his statements of successful experiments, 
at the late meeting at Bristol. Mr. Sturgeon of Woolwich, Eng- 
land, also reports a galvanic machine as being in use on his premi- 
ses for pumping water, and for other mechanical purposes. 

CONCLUSIONS. 

1. It appears then, from the facts stated above, that electro-mag- 
netism is quite adequate to the generation of rotary motion. 

2. That it is not necessary to employ permanent magnets in any 
part of the construction, and that electro-magnets are far more pref- 
erable, not only for the moving, but for the stationary parts of the 
machine. 

3. That the power generated by electro-magnetism may be indefi- 
nitely prolonged, since, for exhausted acids, and corroded metals, 
fresh acids and batteries, kept always in readiness, may be substi- 
tuted, even without stopping the movement. 

4. That the power may be increased beyond any limit hitherto at- 
tained, and probably beyond any which can be with certainty as- 
signed, — since, by increasing all the members of the apparatus, 
due reference being had to the relative proportionate weight, size, 
and form of the fixed and moveable parts — to the length of the in- 
sulated wires and the manner of winding them — and to the proper 
size and construction of the battery, as well as to the nature and 
strength of the acid or other exciting agent, and the manner of con- 
necting the battery with the machine, it would appear certain that 
the power must be increased in some ratio which experience must 
ascertain. 

5. As electro-magnetism has been experimentally proved to be 
sufficient to raise and sustain several thousands of pounds, no reason 
can be discovered why, — when the acting surfaces are, by skilful 
mechanism, brought as near as possible, without contact, — the con- 
tinued exertion of the power should not generate a continued rotary 
movement, of a degree of energy inferior indeed to that exerted in 
actual contact, but still nearly approximating to it. 

6. As the power can be generated cheaply and certainly — as it 



22 

can be continued indefinitely — as it has been very greatly increased 
by very simple means — as we have no knowledge of its limits, and 
may therefore presume on an indefinite augmentation of its energy, 
it is much to be desired, that the investigation should be prosecuted 
with zeal, aided by correct scientific knowledge, by mechanical skill, 
and by ample funds. It may therefore be reasonably hoped, that 
science and art, the handmaids of discovery, will both receive from 
this interesting research, a liberal reward. 

Science has thus, most unexpectedly, plaeed in our hands a new 
power of great but unknown energy. 

It does not evoke the winds from their caverns ; nor give wings 
to water by the urgency of heat ; nor drive to exhaustion the mus- 
cular power of animals ; nor operate by complicated mechanism ; 
nor accumulate hydraulic force by damming the vexed torrents ; nor 
summon any other form of gravitating force ; but, by the simplest 
means, — the mere contact of metallic surfaces of small extent, with 
feeble chemical agents, a power every where diffused through na- 
ture, but generally concealed from our senses, — is mysteriously 
evolved, and by circulation in insulated wires, it is still more myste- 
riously augmented, a thousand and a thousand fold, until it breaks 
forth with incredible energy : there is no appreciable interval be- 
tween its first evolution and its full maturity, and the infant starts up 
a giant. 

Nothing since the discovery of gravitation and of the structure of 
the celestial systems, is so wonderful as the power evolved by gal- 
vanism ; whether we contemplate it in the muscular convulsions of 
animals, the chemical decompositions, the solar brightness of theo- 
galvanic light, the dissipating consuming heat, and more than all, in 
the magnetic energy, which leaves far behind all previous artificial 
accumulations of this power, and reveals, as there is full reason to 
believe, the grand secret of terrestrial magnetism itself. B. S. 

New-Haven, March 31, 1837. 



23 



We shall now insert a'paper, recommending Mr. Stimpson to the 
favourable notice of the public before he disposed of his interest in 
the present Magnetic Company, — when he had it in contemplation 
to build a large machine by voluntary subscription. This was first 
signed by Professor Renwick of Columbia College, and was follow- 
ed by about fifty of the most respectable gentlemen in this city, and 
the plan approved and encouraged by various Professors of the dif- 
ferent institutions throughout the country. It is one among many 
proofs existing, that could be produced, of the consideration in which 
this new arrangement is held, by gentlemen who can be relied on 
for their knowledge and practical skill, and who have not the slight- 
est pecuniary interest in it whatever. 

ELECTRO-MAGNETISM. 

The undersigned, having seen and examined three working mod- 
els of Electro-Magnetic machinery, constructed by Mr. Solomon 
Stimpson, on a principle deemed to be different from any before pro- 
duced in this country, or so far as the undersigned can learn, in any 
other, concur in recommending them to the favourable notice of the 
public. 

Mr. Stimpson's object is to construct a machine similar to the 
most perfect of the models, but on a scale sufficiently large to bring 
his improvements to the test of certain experiment. To this end, 
he proposes that it shall be so large as to have a motive wheel four 
feet in diameter, and parallel magnets two feet in [length — dimen- 
sions amply sufficient to settle the question whether this power can 
or cannot be employed with manifest advantage in the propulsion of 
machinery. 

By a careful estimate, Mr. Stimpson has ascertained that the pro- 
posed machine can be constructed for one thousand dollars ; and to 
raise this sum is the immediate object of the present recommenda- 
tion. He is satisfied, moreover, that he can complete the machine, 
and have it in operation, in from sixty to ninety days after the above 
sum shall have been raised. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



021 092 266 ( 



24 



The undersigned, thereforo, in furtherance of this great object of 
science, most respectfully concur in recommending this plan to their 
fellow-citizens, as one deserving of encouragement and of prosecu- 
tion to such an issue as shall be convincing, either in confirmation 
or disproval of the assumed capabilities of Electro-Magnetism as a 
motive power. The importance of the fact, if it shall be ascertain- 
ed that Electro-Magnetism can be employed as a substitute for 
steam, to any great extent, must be obvious to any who will advert to 
the safety and simplicity of its employment — considerations of the 
highest importance, as is demonstrated by the lamentable destruction 
of life and property yearly caused in this country by the explosion of 
steam-boilers. 

This consideration alone must lead every reflecting man anxiously 
to desire that a less dangerous power may be brought into success- 
ful employment ; and, hoping that the improvements of Mr. Stimp- 
son in the application of Electro-Magnetism afford a reasonable 
prospect of this desirable consummation, the undersigned cannot but 
express their earnest wish that he maybe enabled, by public liberali- 
ty, to complete the great experiment which he has projected, but 
which his own exhausted means do not enable him fully to ac- 
complish. 

It is intended, when the machine of the above dimensions is com- 
pleted, to have it examined by a Board of the most scientific and 
practical men in the country, for the purpose of testing its power and 
the expense of propelling the same, as compared with others now in 
general use, and report the result of their investigation to the public, 
as to its practicability as a new motor, and whether it is worthy, in 
their opinion, of further prosecution and support as a valuable aux- 
iliary to steam, or not. 
July, 1838. 



^» 



I. 



